Can opener



W. P. GISSKE Feb. 2, 1932.

CAN OPENER Filed Feb. 24, 1931 Patented Feb. 2, 1932 UNITED sIATEs PATENT `OFFICE;

WALTER P. eIssxE, oF ciIIdAGo, ILLINOIS, A'ssIeNoI't To VAUGHAN NOVELTY MFG. co.,

OF CHICAGO, `IIQII'ILIIIOIS, A CORPORATION O F ILLINOIS CAN OPENER.

Application led February 24, 1931. vSerial lNo. '517,871.

This invention relates to improvements in can openers and more particularly to can openers of'the stationary type designed to be mounted on a wall or table, and operated by the turning of a crank to cut the-topl from the can.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for openers ofLthe so-calledstationary type, and characterized ygenerally by a piv'oted cutting blade having a f handle for forcing it through the top of the can after 'it has been placed in the opener and a crank-operated traction wheel or disc for rotating thev can after the cuttingblade has punctured the top.

'A further object of the invention is to pro'- vide a novel arrangement of guide4 members in the fornof lugs which bear ,upon the edge 0f the can on opposite Sides of the point of cutting and thus insure positive and other- Wise entirely mechanical cutting. action.

A preferred'embodiment of the invention is disclosed in" the accompanying drawings, in which Y Figure 1 is aperspective view of the opener from thelrear as mounted o n a wall or vertical surfacef Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same n opener from the front, but shown as mounted a0 on a tabley or other horizontal surface. u

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of the operating parts in elevation, and l Figure f1 is a view in vertical section taken on line 4.--4 of Figure 3.

b5 For a stationary mounting, the operating vparts of the opener are located at the outer end of'an arm 1 adjustably connected at its inner end to a bracket 2 adapted to be fastened as by screws -to a wall, woodwork or table, with the arm 1 projectin .horizontally therefrom at a distance to affor ampleclearf ance for convenient'operation. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the arm is connected with the bracket 2 so that the latter can be secured to either a vertical or horizontal surface and the arm will project .horizontally in either case. The bracket 2 is an angle plate with one flange projecting at right angles from the surface to which the other flange is fastened asby. screws 3. Projecting` from the outer face of the .projecting flange are two short cylindric lugs 4 located on opposite sides of a bolt 5 extending through the cen- /ter of the flange and in diagonally opposed corners thereo The arm ljwhich has the form of a strip of metal Hanged along its edges as at 1a has at its inner end a group of four smaller holes 6 grouped symmetrically about the center bolt 5 and arranged in diagonally disposed pairs, either, one or the other being adapted to register with thelugsl 4 on the face of the bracket ange. The bolt 5 is equippedwith a wing nut 5a which, on being loosened,.fpermits the bracket 2 and arm 1 to be adjusted .through an angle of 90 .for Wall or table mounting.

At the outer end of the arm 1 is preferably mounted a plate 7 acting as a basefor the operating parts of the opener, although 'the end portion of the arm itself may serve the purpose. As shown, however-,fthe separate plate 7 is welded or otherwise fastened to the arm with its main portion projecting beyond the overlapping inner end portion. X

The outer portion of the plate 7 moreover is canted slightly into a plane oblique to the plane of the supporting 'arm 1, as the result of swaging the plate along a transverse line 7 a just beyond the end of the arm. Thus as shown in-Figure' 4 the outer end of the plate inclines slightly tothe left at its upper end.`

Near they bottom edge of the plate 7 )and centrally of its projecting main portiona's a disc 8 with a toothed periphery lying flatwise in close Contact with one face of the plate, and on the oppositek side of the plate is a crank 9 having a long arm' with a handle 9a atits end., The tooth wheel or ydisc 8 and the crank' 9 are both fixed to the endsof a pin 10 journalled in said plate. Just below the periphery ofthe wheel, a lug 1.1 isbent outwardly from the lower edge of the plate at right angles and extends just beyond the face of the disc 8. v

Above the toothed disc 8 is a cutting lever 12 journalled on a pivot pin 13 anchored in the plate at a point in vertical alignment with the axis of" the disc. The cutting lever has a long tapering arm extending upwardly some distance beyond the edge of the plate and ,100

- the width of the lever.

surmounted by a handle or knob 12a. Below' the pivot pin the lever has a very short arm shaped to form first a cutting or shearing blade 14 defined by the continuation of theA outer edge of the lever, an oblique shearing edge '14a and inner longitudinal edge 1412 in alignment with the longitudinal center line of the lever,the` blade being only one-half Moreover, when the blade 'is in shearing or cutting position, the lever is vertical and the inner edge 141) thereof substantially'coincides with a vertical line between the axes of the .wheel 8 and the pivot pin 13 of the cutting lever.

This position is determined by contact between the cutting lever just below its pivot pin and a finger 15 stamped from ythe plate and bent to project at right angles thereto, and transversely of the path of the lever and forming an abutment-which has contactwith the inner edge of the lever just above and below the pivot pin, and thus -limits the swinging movement of the cutting lever in both directions and to an arc of substantially 90, that is, from the vertical cutting position to a substantially horizontal position in a counter-clockwise direction.

Another finger 16 formed integral with the cutting lever is located at the outer edge thereof that is, the edge opposite that contacting with the first mentioned finger and immediately below the pivot pin, the two fingers 15 and 16 being spaced apart about equal distances on either side of the `vertical shearing edge of the-blade 16, `when the cutting lever is in its vertical position,'and at the same distance above the lowerl edge of the plate.

As clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4, an ordinary canA C has a bead or flan e c around its rim which not only projects e gewise but alsolaterally in the form of a rounded head. To insert the can into the opener, the handle of the cutting lever is swung rearwardly (as shown in, dotted lines in Figure 3) thus shifting the cutting blade forwardly and upwardly above'the toothed wheel 8, and thus out of its cutting position overlapping the edge :of the wheel. The rim of the can` is then placed against the plate so that its top edge bears against the fingers 15 and 16, and the under side of the bead rests upon the periphery ofthe wheel. .The cutting lever is now swung forwardly carrying the point of the cutting blade into contact with lthe top of the can just inwardly from the rim thereof, whereupon further pressure upon# the lever` drives the ypoint of the shearingblade through the top wallof the can as the cutting lever is swung into its vertical position `j is sheared. After the top has been completely sheared and removed, the can is held in .Y

one hand while the cutting lever 12 is swung backwardly, thus releasing the can from the opener. 4 v

The cutting action thus described is largev ly due to the presence of the finger 16 on the Itis preferred to provide means for yieldingly holding the cutting lever in its cutting position, and for this purpose a bump 17 'is stamped in the `lever 12 to project from its rear face and to contact with the plate 7 as the lever is swung into its vertical position. To increase the holding capacity of the bump 17, a pair of similarly formed fbumps 18, 18 are formed on the front face of the plate 7 and spaced apart to form a locking notch between. By this arrangement a slight pull or jerk upon the lever is required to bring the handle into its vertical cutting position after the blade has been forced through the top of the canfand firmly holds the cutting lever in plac during the cutting operation and until the opened can is released.

As a further feature of the can opener,

it is contemplated that the blade may be magnetized so' that any bits of metal that may be separated from the walls' of the can during the'opening operation, will be picked up and retained on the blade instead of contaminating the contents of the can. The possibility of such an occurrence, however, is not likely, due to the shearing action of the blade, but as a precaution the use of a magnetized blade may be provided for.

Having set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, claim:

b 1. Acan opener comprising a fixed support, a traction wheel journalled in said support and having a crank for rotatinf` the sameha lever-pivotally mounted on saidosupport and having a blade adapted to be shifted into cutting position adjacent said traction wheel .by said lever, and projecting fingers located on opposite sides of said blade when in 4cutting position, one of said fingers being integral with saidlever.

2. A can opener comprising a `fixed supportingv member including an upright plate,

l a tractionl wheel journalled in said plate and havingxa crank arm for rotating the same, a

Vcutting lever pivotally mounted on said plate adjacent said traction wheel and having an extended handle portion and a blade adapted to coact with said traction wheel, a finger projecting from said plate at one side of said l traction wheel, and another finger projecting from said cutting lever on the' opposite side of said traction wheel from said first mentioned finger when said blade is in cutting position.

3. A can opener comprising a fixed supporting member including an upri ht plate, a traction wheel journalled on sai plate to rotate against one face thereof, a crank arm connected with said traction wheel, a cutting lever pivotally mounted on said plate and having a blade adapted to be swung into cutting position overlying the edge of said traction wheel, and a finger projecting outwardly therefrom on one side of said blade, and an abutment on said plate located on the opposite side of said blade from said finger when said blade is in cutting position.

4. A can opener comprising a fixed supporting bracket including an upright plate, a traction Wheel journalled on said plate, a crank arm connected with said traction Wheel, a cutting lever pivotally mounted on V said plate above said traction wheel and having an extended crank arm and a blade adapted to overlie the periphery of said traction Wheel in cutting position, a finger bent outwardl from said plate and 'located at one side o said traction wheel, and a complementary finger integral with said cutting lever and located on the opposite side of said traction wheel, said fingers acting as -abutments for the rim of a can during the opening operation.

5. ln a can opener, the combination of a fixed bracket having a horizontal arm, and can-opening members mounted at the end of said arm comprising a traction wheel journalled on one side of said plate and having a crank handle, a cutting lever pivotally mounted on said plate above said traction wheel and having a blade coacting therewith to' penetrate the top of a can, sald lever having a finger at "one edge thereof projectin out Wardly at one side of said cutting bla e and a finger projecting from said plate on the opposite side of said blade when the same is in cutting position, said fingers actlng as abutments for the rim of the can during the cutting operation, and -said finger yon said plate also acting as an abutment for said cuttinglever to hold thel blade in cutting position.

6. In a can opener, the combination of ya bracket adapted for mounting on a vertical or horizontal surface, an arm having angular adjustable connection with said bracket at one end and can-opening members mounted at its opposite end, the latter comprising a traction wheel having a crank handle, a lever pivotally mounted adjacent said traction wheel and having a blade coacting therewith to penetrate the top of a c'an, said lever having an integral finger projecting outwardly at one side of said cutting blade and a finger projecting from said arm and located on the opposites'ide of said blade when the Same is infcutting position, said ngers acting to guide the can being opened durin the cutting operation, and said last-mentloned finger acting as an abutment to limit the swinging of said cutting lever into cutting position, andmeans for yieldably holding said lever in cutting position.

7. 'A can opener comprising a fixed support, a traction Wheel journalled in said support and having a crank for rotating the` same, and a cutting blade pivotally mounted nnv said support and adapted to be shifted'V into cutting position adjacent said tractionA Wheel by said lever, said blade being provided with a projection extending transversely of the cutting edge thereof and offset therefrom to bear edgewise againstthe rim of the can during the cutting operation.

Signed at Chicago, Ill., this 18th dayof February, 1931.

WALTER P. GISSKE. 

